1.71% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 178.306 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle,
sheep, poultry

Exports: $69 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore,
wheat, machinery and transport equipment

Exports - partners: Japan 19%, EU 14%, ASEAN 12%, US 9%, South
Korea, NZ, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China (1999)

Imports: $77 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers
and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude
oil and petroleum products

Imports - partners: EU 24%, US 22%, Japan 14%, ASEAN 13% (1999)

Debt - external: $220.6 billion (2000)

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $1.43 billion (FY97/98)

Currency: Australian dollar (AUD)

Currency code: AUD

Exchange rates: Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January
2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997),
1.2773 (1996)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Australia Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 9.58 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 6.4 million (1998)

Telephone system: general assessment: excellent domestic and
international service

domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in
areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular
telephones

international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian
Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean
regions) (1998)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 25.5 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 104 (1997)

Televisions: 10.15 million (1997)

Internet country code: .au

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 264 (2000)

Internet users: 7.77 million (2000)

Australia Transportation

Railways: total: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified)

broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge

standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge

dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999)

Highways: total: 913,000 km

paved: 353,331 km (including 1,363 km of expressways)

unpaved: 559,669 km (1996)

Waterways: 8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft)

Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum produ